Advancing Multilingual Climate Change Education in Sierra Leone Through Strategic Partnerships

By Pious Mannah/YMCASL

“I believe our young people can lead a green revolution for this country. But to do that, they need knowledge — and they need it in their own languages, framed around their own realities. That is why I committed MBSSE to driving this forward through cross-ministerial collaboration …”, Hon. Conrad O. Sackey, Minister of Basic and Secondary Education, Sierra Leone

Efforts to strengthen climate resilience in Sierra Leone received a significant boost in April 2026 as the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) Sierra Leone, together with academic partners from the Centre for Translation Studies (CenTraS) at University College London (UCL), engaged key national institutions to advance multilingual climate change education and risk communication.

The engagements formed part of an ongoing initiative aimed at developing a Climate Change Adaptation Primer and improving access to climate information in Sierra Leone’s major local languages. The initiative recognizes that effective climate action depends on ensuring that communities can access, understand, and use climate-related information in languages they speak and understand.

A major highlight of the mission was a meeting with the Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, Hon. Conrad O. Sackey. Discussions focused on integrating climate change education into learning systems and promoting inclusive educational materials that can reach learners across diverse linguistic backgrounds. The proposed Climate Change Adaptation Primer was presented as a practical tool to enhance climate literacy among students, teachers, and communities, while supporting broader national climate action objectives.

The delegation also held strategic discussions with the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), led by Director General John Vandy Rogers and Deputy Director General Solaiman B. Sowa. The meeting emphasized the importance of multilingual early warning systems and accessible disaster risk communication. Participants highlighted that communicating climate and disaster-related information in local languages is critical to strengthening preparedness, reducing vulnerability, and improving community resilience.

Further engagements with UNDP Sierra Leone reinforced the value of long-standing partnerships in promoting translation capacity and expanding access to climate and disaster risk information. Since 2021, collaboration among CenTraS-UCL, YMCA Sierra Leone, and UNDP Sierra Leone has contributed significantly to multilingual communication initiatives that support climate resilience and sustainable development.

The series of meetings demonstrated growing national commitment to making climate information more accessible and actionable for all citizens. Through collaboration among government institutions, development partners, academia, and civil society organizations, the Climate Change Adaptation Primer is expected to play an important role in empowering communities with the knowledge needed to understand climate risks, adopt adaptation measures, and contribute to a more resilient future.

As climate-related challenges continue to affect communities across Sierra Leone, these strategic partnerships represent an important step toward ensuring that no one is left behind in the country’s climate adaptation and resilience-building efforts.